The charity, which came under heavy scrutiny after it was claimed that women working at the annual charity dinner had been groped and subjected to sexual harassment, said in a statement yesterday afternoon: “The trustees have decided that the Presidents Club will not host any further fundraising events.
“Remaining funds will be distributed in an efficient manner to children’s charities and it will then be closed.”
Theresa May continued to come under pressure to sack a member of her government after it emerged he had attended the men-only charity fundraising event last week at the Dorchester hotel in London.
The allegations of guests groping hostesses have prompted widespread disgust from MPs of all parties and calls for the resignation of the Children and Families Minister Nadhim Zahawi, who admitted attending the event.
Downing Street confirmed that David Meller, a co-chair of the club, had been asked to stand down from the board of the department for education and his role as chair of the government’s apprenticeship delivery board.
The prime minister is facing calls to sack Zahawi, who expressed his shock at the alleged behaviour of fellow guests.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “Zahawi clearly did attend the event briefly and has himself said he felt uncomfortable at it at the point at which the hostesses were introduced by the host.”
He said Zahawi “probably regrets his decision to go”.
The Labour MP Sarah Jones said Zahawi should resign if he did not report his concerns about the event.
In a Commons debate about the event, she said: “If it transpires that the minister did not report his concerns and that he was there on previous occasions, it is absolutely surely obvious that he needs to resign. Our women are too important, our young girls are too important to get this kind of message from our leaders and to think that it’s acceptable.”
Her colleague Emma Lewell-Buck suggested Zahawi should be sacked.
No 10 said May did not plan to speak directly to Zahawi, who was not in the chamber for the debate.
Zahawi said on Twitter: “I do unequivocally condemn this behaviour. The report is truly shocking. I will never attend a men-only function ever.”
In response to an urgent question in the Commons about the event, the Education Minister Anne Milton announced Meller’s resignation.
“Meller is stepping down as non-executive member for the DfE and apprenticeship delivery board, and this is the right thing to do,” she said. “I understand from reports that at this event there were allegations of inappropriate and lewd behaviour … Women have the right to feel safe wherever they work, and allegations of this type of behaviour are completely unacceptable.”
Meller’s company, the Meller Group, refused to answer questions about his role in the event.
The Bank of England said yesterday it had withdrawn the offer of tea with its governor, Mark Carney, and a tour of its Threadneedle Street offices, won by an unnamed bidder at the dinner. A spokesman said: “It won’t be honoured. It was never valid.”
The bank said officials were appalled by the reports of sexual harassment but it would not be writing to complain to the Presidents Club. “We don’t have a relationship with this organisation and we are not going to start one now,” he said.
The offer of tea with Carney is understood to have been first won at a charity dinner last year and recycled at last week’s event.
The Lord Mayor’s Appeal, which held a charity dinner last November, invited bids to win tea with Carney and a tour of the Bank. Caroline Wright, who runs the appeal, said she believed the winner of the prize had sought to pass it on to the Presidents Club.
She refused to give the name of the winner or how much they paid, but confirmed the charity was trying to contact them to tell them the prize had been rescinded and the money would be refunded. “We don’t give out the names of winners and have never said how much they paid.”
Earlier, Great Ormond Street hospital pledged to return donations from the Presidents Club. A spokeswoman for the GOSH Children’s Charity said: “We would never knowingly accept donations raised in this way”.